Self-bailer for sailing boats

ABSTRACT

A self-bailer for sail boats having an apertured plate attached to the bottom of a boat, a chute pivotally mounted on the plate and a non-return valve disposed within the chute to prevent the passage of water through the bailer into the boat.

United States Patent Bier 51 Apr. 8, 1975 (54] SELF-BAILER FOR SAILING BOATS 27!,060 l/l883 Graham ll4/l85 933,89l 9/1909 Curry v ll4/l85 1761 memo Kurweg zuzsao 9/1935 Marshall H 135/5257! SChhCYSW Germany 3.027.861! 7/1960 Whitehead. muss 9 Channon i i i v .i I A l. 3 1 PP N0 58 550 Primur Examiner-R0bert G. Sheridan Assistam ExaminerGary Auton [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Attorney, Agent, or FirmCraig & Antonelli May 9, 1972 Germany 2222613 [52] U.S. Cl. 114/185 ABSTRACT A self-bailer for sail boats having an apertured plate 9/348fl37/5257 attached to the bottom of a boat, a chute pivolally mounted on the plate and a non-return valve disposed thin the chute to prevent the passage of water [56] References Cited Ih h 111 b I l h b '1. UNITED STATES PATENTS C 0 e 03 199,696 H1878 Dikeman 137/409 l2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR 81975 FIG I FIG 2 FIG. 3

SELF-BAILER FOR SAILING BOATS The present invention concerns a self'bailer for sailing boats.

Self-bailers or automatic bilge valves which operate on the suction principle are well known. The feature common to such bailers is an exhaust aperture which, in use, is directed towards the rear or stern of the boat. Water collecting in the boat is discharged through the exhaust aperture by means of suction created by movement of the boat through the water. Such bailers only operate as long as the static pressure of the collected water acting at the exhaust aperture is less than the negative dynamic pressure created at the same place as a result of passage of the boat through the water. As soon as the relative speed between the boat and the water falls below a certain critical value water tends to return through the bailer and into the boat. In order to prevent such a return flow, known bailers are provided with reliefflaps at the exhaust apertures, the flaps serving as inefficient non-return or one-way valves. It has been found in practice that owing to the position of such relief flaps, they are often damaged, for example, as a result of running aground, and do not work properly thereafter. Even undamaged flaps do not seal perfectly so that water penetrates into the boat when out of use for long periods,

According to the present invention, there is provided a self-bailer for sailing boats, the bailer having an apertured plate for attachment to the bottom of a boat. a chute pivotally connected to the plate for movement between raised and lowered positions with respect to the plate, and non-return valve for blocking the passage of water through the bailer into the boat. the bailer in use being operative when the chute is lowered to cause water in the boat to be sucked through the plate and discharged towards the stern of the boat through an open end ofthe chute, the non-return valve being a flap located between the chute and the plate. and flap being secured adjacent the chute mounting for movement towards and away from the plate. for respectively closing and opening the aperture or apertures therein.

At least a portion of the flap adjacent the point of attachment thereof to the plate may be made from a resilient material to allow the flap to swing bodily towards and away from the plate to cover and uncover the aperture or apertures therein. Alternatively, the flap itself can be made wholly of a resilient material for the same purpose. lt will be appreciated that the flap itself could rigidly and hingedly be connected to the plate, in which instance biasing means can be provided to urge the flap towards an aperture-closing position.

A buoyant member may advantageously be provided at the face ofthe strap remote from the plate to render the flap valve self closing. The lift body may be made of elastic foam-plastics material and extend over at least that part of the flap which covers the aperture or apertures in the plate.

The position and structure of the flap in a preferred embodiment of the invention provides particularly good sealing contact of the flap with the plate over a relatively large area of the plate. The flap itself is arranged and protected as a whole within the chute, whose raised and lowered positions are selected manually in the usual manner for example in the manner disclosed in US. Pat. Nos. 271,060 and 3,027,861. The effect of the buoyant member is to provide tight contact between the flap and the plate whenever the pressure conditions are such that the flap is in an aperture-closing position. It is preferred to arrange that the buoyant member completely fills a space between the chute and the plate to provide a perfect sealing of the bailer when the bailer is not in use.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described in more detail by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a bailer or bilge valve embodying the invention;

FlG. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section taken along line ll-ll in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a vertical transverse section taken along line Ill-ll] in FIG. 1.

The bailer shown in FIG. 1 has a plate or frame 1 for mounting on the bottom of the boat, the frame having elongated passages 2 and 3 to allow water collecting in the boat to pass through the bailer. The frame 1 includes two boxes 4 and 5 which are closed to the interior of the boat, but which are open to the exterior, the boxes forming receivers for lateral walls of a chute 6 (FIG. 2).

As shown in FIG. 2 the chute 6 is open to the top i.e. to the interior of the boat and to the rear. The chute 6 may be made of sheet metal and is pivotally secured adjacent the front of the frame 1 by a pivot 7. In the vicinity of the pivot 7 there is a flap 8 made of a resilient material. The flap 8 covers to a large extent the passages 2 and 3 of the frame I. The surface of the flap 8 which faces away from the frame 1 is provided with a buoyant member or lift body 9 that may be made of elastic foam plastics material or the like. The flap 8 may form an integral part of the lift body 9.

FIG. 3 illustrates a section along line llI-lll of FIG. 1, and shows the lateral walls of the chute 6 positioned so as to be received in the boxes 4 and 5 of the frame 1 when the chute 6 is pressed upwardly towards the frame to close the bailer. The flap 8 covers the passages 2 and 3 in a sealing manner when the bailer is closed.

The bailer is mounted to the hull of a boat such that the open end 6a of the chute 6 faces towards the stern of the boat. In use, when the boat is moving through the water at greater than a given speed, the water deflected by the chute 6 creates a reduced pressure region astern of the open end 6a. This reduced pressure, in conjunction with the static head or pressure of water collected inside the boat, causes the flap 8 to swing down and open the two passages 2, 3. The collected water is then sucked out of the boat through the open end 60. Should boat speed fall below the given, critical value, the suction created astern of the open end 6a of the chute 6 is insufficient to hold the flap 8 down. Its resilience, aided by the buoyancy of the member 9, then causes the flap to swing upwardly to close the passages 2, 3 thus sealing the bailer and preventing water seeping therethrough back into the boat.

What is claimed is:

1. A self-bailing arrangement for a boat comprising: a first member adapted to be mounted on the bottom of a boat, means in said first member for communicating with the water below the boat, means movably mounted on said first member having a first and second position, said movably mounted means in the first position sealing the boat from the water below and in said second position discharging water from the boat, and means responsive to the speed of the boat for automatically selectively opening and closing said communicat ing means including a non-return valve, said non-return valve comprising a flap member one end of which is fixedly secured to said first member. said fiap member being disposed between said communicating means and said movably mounted means, and a buoyant means provided on the surface of said flap member disposed away from said first member for automatically closing said communicating means when the speed of the boat falls below a predetermined minimum value whereby seepage of water into the boat is prevented.

2. A self-bailing arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said means for communicating includes at least one aperture disposed in said first member.

3. A self-bailing arrangement according to claim 2, wherein said flap member is made from a resilient material whose resilience allows said flap member to swing bodily towards and away from said first member to selectively cover and uncover said at least one aperture.

4. A self-bailing arrangement according to claim 2, wherein said flap member includes a portion, adjacent the point of securing which is made from a resilient material, said resilient portion allowing said flap member to swing bodily towards and away from said first member to selectively cover and uncover said at least one aperture.

5. A self-bailing arrangement according to claim 2, wherein said buoyant means is a body of elastic foamplastics material.

6. A self-bailing arrangement according to claim 5, wherein said buoyant means extends over at least that area ofthe flap which covers said at least one aperture.

7. A self-bailing arrangement according to claim 2, wherein movably mounted means includes a chute having an open end and closed end, said chute being pivotally supported on said first member at said closed end with said open end of said chute extending toward the stern of the boat.

8. A self-bailing arrangement according to claim 7, wherein said flap member is made from a resilient material whose resilience allows said flap member to swing bodily towards and away from said first member to selectively cover and uncover said at least one aperture.

9. A self-bailing arrangement according to claim 8, wherein said buoyant means is a body of elastic foamplastics material.

It]. A self-bailing arrangement for a boat comprising: a first member adapted to be mounted on the bottom of a boat, means in said first member for communicating with the water below the boat, means responsive to the speed of the boat for automatically selectively opening and closing said means for communicating,

and means movably mounted on said first member having a first and second position, said movably mounted means in the first position sealing the boat from the water below and in a second position discharging the water from the boat, said means for communicating including at least one aperture disposed in said first me mber, said means for selectively opening and closing said means for communicating including a non-return valve comprising a flat member one end of which is fixedly secured to said plate number, said flap member being disposed between said at least one aperture and said movably mounted means, said movably mounted means including a chute having an open end and a closed end, said chute being pivotally supported on said first member at said closed end with said open end of said chute extending toward the stern of the boat, said flap member being made from a resilient material whose resilience allows said flap member to swing bodily towards and away from said first member to selectively cover and uncover said at least one aperture, the surface of said flap mem ber which faces away from said first member being provided with a buoyant member which is a body of elastic foam-plastics material, said chute including spaced upstanding wall portions and said first member being provided with a pair of boxes, each of said boxes being closed at the top and open at the bottom, said upstanding wall portion of said chute being disposed in said boxes when said chute is in said first position.

11. A self-bailing arrangement for a boat comprising: a first member adapted to be mounted on the bottom of a boat, means in said first member for communicating with the water below the boat, means responsive to the speed of the boat for automatically selectively opening and closing said means for communicating, and means movably mounted on said first member having a first and a second position, said movably mounted means in a first position sealing the boat from the water below and in a second position discharging water from the boat, said first member being provided with at least a pair of boxes, each of said boxes being closed at the top and open at the bottom to receive said movably mounted means when said means is in said first position.

12. A self bailing arrangement according to claim I, wherein movably mounted means includes a chute having an open and closed end, said chute being pivotally supported on said first member at said closed end with of the boat. 

1. A self-bailing arrangement for a boat comprising: a first member adapted to be mounted on the bottom of a boat, means in said first member for communicating with the water below the boat, means movably mounted on said first member having a first and second position, said movably mounted means in the first position sealing the boat from the water below and in said second position discharging water from the boat, and means responsive to the speed of the boat for automatically selectively opening and closing said communicating means including a non-return valve, said non-return valve comprising a flap member one end of which is fixedly secured to said first member, said flap member being disposed between said communicating means and said movably mounted means, and a buoyant means provided on the surface of said flap member disposed away from said first member for automatically closing said communicating means when the speed of the boat falls below a predetermined minimum value whereby seepage of water into the boat is prevented.
 2. A self-bailing arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said means for communicating includes at least one aperture disposed in said first member.
 3. A self-bailing arrangement according to claim 2, wherein said flap member is made from a resilient material whose resilience allows said flap member to swing bodily towards and away from said first member to selectively cover and uncover said at least one aperture.
 4. A self-bailing arrangement according to claim 2, wherein said flap member includes a portion, adjacent the point of securing which is made from a resilient material, said resilient portion allowing said flap member to swing bodily towards and away from said first member to selectively cover and uncover said at least one aperture.
 5. A self-bailing arrangement according to claim 2, wherein said buoyant means is a body of elastic foam-plastics material.
 6. A self-bailing arrangement according to claim 5, wherein said buoyant means extends over at least that area of the flap which covers said at least one aperture.
 7. A self-bailing arrangement according to claim 2, wherein movably mounted means includes a chute having an open end and closed end, said chute being pivotally supported on said first member at said closed end with said open end of said chute extending toward the stern of the boat.
 8. A self-bailing arrangement according to claim 7, wherein said flap member is made from a resilient material whose resilience allows said flap member to swing bodily towards and away from said first member to selectively cover and uncover said at least one aperture.
 9. A self-bailing arrangement according to claim 8, wherein said buoyant means is a body of elastic foam-plastics material.
 10. A self-bailing arrangement for a boat comprising: a first member adapted to be mounted on the bottom of a boat, means in said first member for communicating with the water below the boat, means responsive to the speed of the boat for automatically selectively opening and closing said means for communicating, and means movably mounted on said first member having a first and second position, said movably mounted means in the first position sealing the boat from the water below and in a second position discharging the water from the boat, said means for communicating including at least one aperture disposed in said first member, said means for selectively opening and closing said means for communicating including a non-return valve comprising a flat member one end of which is fixedly secured to said plate number, said flap member being disposed between said at least one aperture and said movably mounted means, said movably mounted means including a chute having an open end and a closed end, said chute being pivotally supported on said first member at said closed end with said open end of said chute extending toward the stern of the boat, said flap member being made from a resilient material whose resilience allows said flap member to swing bodily towards and away from said first member to selectively cover and uncover said at least one aperture, the surface of said flap member which faces away from said first member being provided with a buoyant member which is a body of elastic foam-plastics material, said chute including spaced upstanding wall portions and said first member being provided with a pair of boxes, each of said boxes being closed at the top and open at the bottom, said upstanding wall portion of said chute being disposed in said boxes when said chute is in said first position.
 11. A self-bailing arrangement for a boat comprising: a first member adapted to be mounted on the bottom of a boat, means in said first member for communicating with the water below the boat, means responsive to the speed of the boat for automatically selectively opening and closing said means for communicating, and means movably mounted on said first member having a first and a second position, said movably mounted means in a first position sealing the boat from the water below and in a second position discharging water from the boat, said first member being provided with at least a pair of boxes, each of said boxes being closed at the top and open at the bottom to receive said movably mounted means when said means is in said first position.
 12. A self bailing arrangement according to claim 1, wherein movably mounted means includes a chute having an open and closed end, said chute being pivotally supported on said first member at said closed end with said open end of said chute extending toward the stern of the boat. 